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Euphorbia grantii

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(Redirected from Synadenium grantii)

African milk bush
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Rosids
Order: Malpighiales
Family: Euphorbiaceae
Genus: Euphorbia
Species:
E. grantii
Binomial name
Euphorbia grantii
Synonyms[1]

Euphorbia grantii (syn.) Synadenium grantii) is a species of succulent plant in the family Euphorbiaceae, which is native to Africa.

Name

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The specific epithet grantii is in honour of the Scottish explorer James Augustus Grant.[2] It was originally described by Daniel Oliver in 1875.[3] The plant has the common name of African milk bush. The synonym Synadenium grantii is in circulation, too.

Distribution

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The plant is native in the African tropics, in particular in Malawi, Kenya and Uganda.[4] It grows at altitudes of 500–2100 meters. It has been introduced in many other tropical regions.

Usage

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It is often grown as a hedge plant and as a traditional grave marker among the peoples of central Kenya (Agĩkũyũ, Akamba, etc.).[5]

In 1952 during the Mau Mau Uprising, the poisonous latex of the plant was used to kill cattle.[6]

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References

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  1. ^ The Plant List (2013). Version 1.1. Published on the Internet; http://www.theplantlist.org/tpl1.1/record/kew-79947 Archived 17 March 2019 at the Wayback Machine (accessed 28 September 2017).
  2. ^ Oliver, Daniel. 1875. Transactions of the Linnean Society of London, 29(3): 144.
  3. ^ "Euphorbia grantii". International Plant Names Index (IPNI). Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew; Harvard University Herbaria & Libraries; Australian National Botanic Gardens. Retrieved 12 July 2010.
  4. ^ Synadenium grantii Hook.f., The Encyclopedia of Succulents. http://www.llifle.com/Encyclopedia/SUCCULENTS/Family/Euphorbiaceae/23048/Synadenium_grantii Archived 6 June 2019 at the Wayback Machine
  5. ^ (Book) Trees of Kenya, by Tim C. Noad and Ann Birnie, p.109, Self-Published in Nairobi, Kenya 1989
  6. ^ Bernard Verdourt, E.C. Trump and M.E. Church (1969). Common poisonous plants of East Africa. London: Collins. p. 254.
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